It doesn't matter if you are sitting in a cube farm or at the beach with an umbrella in your drink; your email inbox keeps filling up. In today's connected world, email has become the primary way that communication happens, both professionally and personally. The real question is: "Are you the owner of your inbox, or does it own you?"

As a recovering attorney, former commercial real estate broker, and current young pastor, I'm learning how important proficient email stewardship is to serve people well and manage my life. Over the last few years, I have come across four email tools that have proven incredibly helpful that I want to commend to you.

1. Revive Your Inbox. This free 21-day email training program touts that in 20 minutes a day you can "reduce the amount of email you receive and learn to deal better with the ones that matter." I'm a believer as it has greatly improved my confidence, effectiveness and intentionality in how I approach my inbox.


2. Boomerang. This is the most valuable email tool I use. One of the greatest frustrations I've had with email is the all-too-common scenario where you send an email task to someone only to realize weeks later that the task was never completed. Enter Boomerang. When you compose an email you can easily program it to "boomerang" back to you if there was no reply by a certain date. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Additionally, if you like to work outside of normal work hours, Boomerang has a nifty feature that allows you to schedule when your email will be sent (so you don't ping others with email at odd hours, and they don't know the crazy hours you're writing them).


3. SaneBox. One of the most productive people I've ever met, Al Mohler, told me that SaneBox was the best tool he had found to manage a crowded inbox. I've become a huge fan! It automatically sorts your emails so that you are not distracted by emails that can wait. The other valuable feature of SaneBox is the ability to unsubscribe from any email with SaneBlackHole.


4. Unroll.Me. Is your inbox overflowing with spam? This free tool allows you to unsubscribe from unwanted email newsletters in a single click or choose to receive them in a daily digest.

As helpful as these tools can be, they won't remove the need for you to actively manage your email. Remember that emails represent people and people require attention. Serve people well by stewarding your inbox effectively.

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Written by Blair Graham, Pastor of Stewardship and Generosity at The Summit Church.